As a teenager in the British Merchant Navy, Derek was a very popular radio officer. He could do almost anything he wanted on the ship, and although he attributed this to his outgoing personality, it appears it was only because of his ability to tune into any radio station, anywhere, and retrieve the music, the cricket matches, the horse racing results and the football matches the sailors wanted. He circumnavigated the globe three times on commercial vessels, stopping for various lengths of time in ports throughout the world. He delighted in exploring different places and cultures. When passing the Pitcairn Islands he particularly enjoyed making radio contact with descendants of the mutineers from the Bounty…
For more, read Profile of George Derek Gillis from The Advocate, 73 (2015).